John Rasmussen’s View of the Berks County Alms House (1880) was one of the stars of a folk art sale at Sotheby’s over the weekend.

It sold for $516,000, an increase of 330.4% on a $120,000 estimate.

John Rasmussen became a resident of the alms house in 1879

Rasmussen was one of the Almshouse Painters, a group of three elderly former draftsmen who met at the institution in the late 1800s.

Together they painted views of their home in a distinctive, idiosyncratic style.  

The record for any piece by the three painters is $545,000, set in 2013 for a view painted by Charles Hoffman.

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